U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
Ground-attack, attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted five strikes in Syria:
-- Near Shadaddi, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Manbij, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
-- Near Waleed, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
Strikes in Iraq
Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Baghdadi, two strikes struck an ISIL beddown location and destroyed an ISIL mortar position.
-- Near Rutbah, a strike produced inconclusive results.
-- Near Fallujah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb, two ISIL tunnel systems and an ISIL weapons cache.
-- Near Kisik, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL assembly area.
-- Near Mosul, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL bulldozer.
-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.
Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.